Writing Apps ... Do You Need Them?

A recent post by The Writer's Circle  (Top 4 Free Writing Apps) informs followers about several FREE writing apps. Yes. Free. And that's something to check out. Always. The ones they list and describe are: 1)Draft; 2)Storehouse; 3)OmmWriter; and 4)Evernote. Here's a brief summary of each. 

1)Draft: collaborative word processing where you choose whether to accept or ignore feedback from editors, fellow writers, or whoever reviews your writing. Special feature is the Hemingway Mode which sets you in the write first, edit later mode. 

2)Storehouse: I should say upfront it's an iPad app. This one has the ability to visually enhance your writing with video and photography as they blend with your text. I can see this working well with children's picture books and adult books that may have photos. 

3)OmmWriter: This one is rather difficult to describe because it's more abstract than physical. However, the app's goal is to create an atmosphere conducive to getting your writing done in the most productive manner. It provides various backgrounds and audio tracks to match the mood of your writing. 

4)Evernote: a note-taking app that syncs and coordinates notes across all your devices. Completing a huge project that requires research and fact gathering? Use Evernote. Besides basic note-taking, you can place these notes alongside your articles and photos. A great organizational tool.

That said, I have to add my personal favorite, which I've found both practical and easy to use. yWriter is a writing app with so many goodies. I stumbled upon this when I was trying to find a free alternative to Schrivener (being the tight, frugal person that I am). I can create chapter summaries, character descriptions, plot summaries, and the list goes on. I print off the complete chapter summaries for my latest WIP and voila, I have a handy reference tool. Not to mention if an agent or publisher asks for an outline or chapter summaries, I've got it ready.  And ... did I mention it's free? The only $$$ that could come into the picture happens when you want to upgrade to a more extensive program, but I haven't found the need for that yet!

Whether any of these work for you depends on your writing process preferences, of course. But you never know if circumstances will change. So, why not check them out?

Happy Writing! And if you have any apps or programs you'd like to mention that are not listed here, please comment!